Shadow Games
by Hallomynameisinigomontya
Summary: It has been twenty years since the end of the Fourth Shinobi War and there is a new threat to Konoha. Now Nanadaime Hokage Naruto Uzumaki must place the future of the village into the hands of the next generation. Will they be able up to the task, or will they be lost to the darkness?
1. Chapter 1

Ch.1

Four shinobi sat around the dying embers of a campfire, their shadows dancing along with the flickering flames. Each of them was visibly tense. It was a cold, damp, autumn evening, they were in foreign and unfamiliar lands, and were unsure if the enemy was aware of their presence. All of a sudden, one of the ninja got up and punched one of his comrades square in the face.

"What the hell!? What are you doing Saito?" yelled the injured ninja with a mix of anger and shock in his voice.

The one who had thrown the punch, however, looked equally as surprised. "I… I don't know. I can't control my body! What's happening?"

"Man you guys are thick. You should really pay attention to your surroundings better," came a drawling voice.

All of the ninja, except Saito, quickly turned towards the source of the voice. A young man with dark hair tied in a topknot could be seen amongst the trees behind them. He had a lazy smirk on his face that just screamed that he was perfectly comfortable with the situation, despite being outnumbered.

"What are you talking about? What's going on? Why can't I move?" yelled Saito.

The young man sighed. "See, this is what I mean. I have you caught in my Shadow Possession Jutsu. It's a pain to have to explain, so I'll just let you look down to see for yourself." With that the young man seemed to bow, and, to the horror of him and his companions, so did Saito.

So distracted by their paranoia, it had escaped their attention that Saito's shadow had stopped moving with the rest and had instead extended towards the forest to connect with the young man's.

"Who the hell are you?" One of the ninja yelled angrily.

"What a pain," the young man sighed again. "If you must know, I'm Nara Shikaji of the Hidden Leaf. I was sent to search for and apprehend four unknown shinobi who had been seen hiding away nearby."

The four ninja blanched. They knew a bit of Konhagakure's Nara clan. One of their members, Nara Shikamaru, was reported to be a brilliant tactician and the Hokage's Chief Advisor.

"They sent one ninja against the four of us?" challenged Saito, hopefully with more confidence than he actually felt.

Shikaji shook his head. "Of course not. I doubt I have the chakra to actually bring all four of you back the the village. Luckily I don't have to."

With that, another two more ninja appeared next to the Nara boy. On his left was a skinny blonde girl with striking cerulean eyes. On his right was a tall, rather rotund boy with spiky red hair.

" **Ninja Art: Mind Transfer Jutsu!** " said the girl, her hands held out in front of her to form a circle, almost as if she were taking aim. Suddenly, she slumped to ground. Confusion saturated the intruders as one of them reached over and hit another one hard on the back of the head. Ironically, it was the one who had been hit by Saito just moments before.

"Why me?" the ninja whined right before he collapsed, unconscious.

The other ninja sprang away from his team. "You may think the shadows are on your side, but your powers are nothing compared to mine!" he said as he performed a quick series of hand seals. " **Shadow Style: Dark Swallow!** "

Suddenly the ninja became covered in darkness. Shikaji directed his shadow towards the dark silhouette, but cursed when he found he couldn't bind the ninja. Harsh laughter echoed from nowhere.

"See? Your precious Shadow Possession means nothing to me!"

"Damn, I had hoped this would just be a simple mission. What a pain," Shikaji complained as he brought out a few shuriken and threw them at the shadowy ninja. The man laughed again and easily dodged, only to grunt in surprised pain as a shuriken grazed his arm.

Shikaji smirked. "Forget that I'm also controlling your friend here? You really are dense. But at least I know that you aren't invulnerable in that state." He turned to his large friend, who was standing over the blonde girl defensively. "Alright Chōdai, your turn. Don't worry, she's safe with me."

Chōdai nodded and formed a few hand signs. " **Partial Expansion: Arm,** " he said as he shot his arm forward. Before the shadowy ninja realized what was happening, Chōdai's arm suddenly grew and his huge hand closed around the ninja. Before the shadowy ninja had a chance to act, Chōdai easily lifted him off and the ground and slammed him back down, creating a small crater and knocking him unconscious in the process.

"Got him," proclaimed the fat ninja proudly.

"Good job Chō-kun!" replied one of the remaining two ninja. "We're almost done here, just two more to go."

"What the hell, Igumi?" yelled Saito. "Just whose side are you on anyways!?"

The ninja looked at him innocently. "Who me? Oh, I'm sorry, Igumi isn't here at the moment. But I'll be sure to leave him a message for you."

With that, he struck his opponent in the back of his head just as he had before with the same result. Satisfied with his work, he put his hands together and said " **Release!** " before crumpling to the ground. The blonde girl looked up groggily.

"That's all of them right, boys?" she asked as she stood up.

"Yea, that's it," replied Shikaji lazily. "Now we just have to bring them back."

"Not a problem. I've got this! **Expansion Jutsu!** " said Chōdai as the rest of his body grew to match his arm. Suddenly towering a few feet taller than his friends, he easily picked up all four enemy ninja. "Let's go! Last one back pays for dinner!"

With that the giant ninja headed back towards the village. The other two looked at each other.

"There is no way I'm paying for him," exclaimed the blonde girl, her cerulean eyes filled with terror. "Last time I did, I nearly went broke!"

Shikaji looked equally as worried. "At least you have another job, Inomi. I don't even think I _can_ afford paying."

"Hurry up you two," yelled Chōdai, already significantly ahead of the others. "You know how much chakra I have to use to keep up this jutsu? I'm already starving!"

His teammates felt a terrifying chill run down their spines. Sharing another quick worried look they raced ahead, hoping beyond hope they could at least not get back last and have to pay. They both loved their large friend like a brother, but his appetite was legendary, and anyone who ended up stuck with the bill for his meal would be feeling the financial pain for quite a long time.

* * *

Uzumaki Naruto, the Seventh Hokage of the Village Hidden in the Leaves, stared intently at the captured ninja before him. He had gone over Shikaji's mission report, glad to see that it was a success. So far, three of the four ninja had been interrogated already, but unfortunately, very little had been learned from it. Naruto hoped this man, the squad's leader, might know more than his subordinates.

"I'll tell you nothing, filthy Konoha scum!" spat the prisoner. "I'm not afraid of you, or the demon inside of you!"

Naruto frowned. He was a bit surprised at the man's outburst. Even though he had been judged his entire life for being a jinchuriki, he felt most people now saw past it and just saw him for the name he had created for himself, especially since he had decided at the end of the Fourth Shinobi War to release the Tailed Beasts. ' _How could he not know that?_ _"_ Naruto mused.

Before he could get too lost in thought, a familiar face caught his eye. "You don't have to tell _him_ anything. It's me you should worry about."

Naruto could see the prisoner strain against his bonds, trying to escape from the source of that last chilling remark, and frankly he couldn't blame the man. Uchiha Sasuke had been one of Naruto's closest friends for many years and he trusted him with his life, but even he was willing to admit that Sasuke could be horribly intimidating.

"You'll get nothing from me!" the prisoner continued to struggle. "I will remain loyal and pure!"

Sasuke smirked. "Funny, that's exactly what your friends said before they met me. Let's see if I can keep my streak going."

Before the prisoner could respond, the Uchiha prodigy's eyes turned dark red as he activated his infamous Sharingan. Naruto almost felt bad for the man. No one could defend themselves against the awesome might of the Uchiha dōjutsu. In mere seconds, Sasuke had gotten the information he needed and released the man from his stare. The prisoner slumped forward, his mind all but completely shattered by the intrusion.

"Well, I'd like to say this wasn't a complete waste of time," said Sasuke disdainfully. "But sadly, this one didn't know much more than the others."

"Dammit!" cried Naruto, slamming his fists into his desk. "You mean you weren't able to find out anything about these guys?"

Sasuke shook his head. "I was able to find out their given names, approximate strength, and the little information any of them seemed to have about their mission. Of the four of them, this one was by far the strongest, but that doesn't mean much. He was barely above the skill of our genin. Explains why Nara's team was able to so easily apprehend them."

"Hey, give them a little bit of credit," came a lazy retort from Nara Shikamaru. Throughout all the interrogations that had gone on in the last couple of hours, he had mainly sat back and observed, feeling that if the Hokage needed his opinion, he'd ask the shadow wielder.

Sasuke smirked. "No offense meant, Shikamaru, but even you should admit that this mission must have a been a breeze for your son's team."

Shikamaru shrugged. "Anyways, you said you weren't able to get much out of them, right? I don't understand, shouldn't your Sharingan been able to pick apart their minds with ease? I mean, Kakashi could back in the day, and he didn't have anywhere near your proficiency."

A dark scowl fell upon Sasuke's face. "I honestly don't know how, but they were somehow able to shield themselves from me. It's like an impenetrable fog was covering up their memories. I don't doubt that they themselves wouldn't be able to call forth any real memories."

"How troublesome," remarked Shikamaru, putting his hands together as he thought. "So even though they are much weaker than us, our jutsu seem to have little effect on them, is that what you're saying? Shikaji said in his report that this man was unaffected by Shadow Possession. I know people can break out possession if they're strong enough, but this is something different. Not to mention, the Sharingan can't even see through their mental blocks. Whoever these ninja work for must know quite a bit about the Leaf Village." Shikamaru paused. "By the way, did either of you notice the symbol on his headband? A black circle. Didn't one of the Inuzuka mention something like this after the attack on their compound eight years ago?"

Sasuke nodded. "I was able to put a name to the headband. These guys were ninja from Yamigakure, the Village Hidden in Darkness."

"'The village Hidden in Darkness'?" Naruto raised an eyebrow questioningly. "I've never heard of that one."

"That's because we have no record of such a village existing," replied Shikamaru. "Which means they're a new village, or one that takes the word 'hidden' a bit too seriously."

"I also haven't heard of this village at all. I don't believe even Orochimaru had any information about them," said Sasuke darkly.

"Well, we're going to find this village and show them that messing with the Leaf Village is a huge mistake _dattebayo!"_ exclaimed Naruto.

"Calm down, you idiot," said Sasuke. He was one of very few ninja who dared talk to the Hokage like that. "We have no leads. We know next to nothing about this village, or its ninja. We can't just go running off chasing shadows. We need a plan."

"I can only think of a handful of shinobi who might have an idea of where to start looking, but most of them are dead," said Shikamaru. "If this village has been around for a while, then I don't doubt the Akatsuki would have known about them. However, the only Akatuski member still alive is dumb as a doornail and even if he weren't, there's no way I'd dig him up. Otherwise, Lady Tsunade has been around for a long time, and has traveled all over the place, so she might have heard something. Also, Kakashi was in ANBU for many years. Maybe he can tell us something."

"Alright!" said Naruto. He put two fingers in his mouth and blew sharply. Immediately, two masked ANBU ninja appeared in response to the whistle. "You two, go find Hatake Kakashi and Grandma Tsunade and bring them here immediately!"

"As you command, Lord Hokage," the two ANBU replied in unison before once more disappearing.

"Now there's not much we can do but wait and see if those two know anything," Shikamaru said lazily while leaning back in his chair and lighting a cigarette.

"Shikamaru, what are you doing?" Naruto asked. "I thought you gave up smoking."

Shikamaru exhaled, letting a ring of smoke escape his lips. "I tried quitting when the kids were born, but it's too troublesome."

"I seem to recall a certain blonde kunoichi threatening to, and I quote, 'Beat your ass so hard you won't be able to sit for a year if you don't quit that disgusting habit,'" said Sasuke. "Aren't you afraid she smell the smoke on you?"

"Afraid? Why would I be afraid of my wife? Just because she's short-tempered, prone to violence, and is rather fond of hitting me with her iron fan that probably weighs as much as she does, doesn't mean I'm afraid of her," replied the head of the Nara clan, impressively managing to keep the fear out of his voice.

However, despite his words, he still quickly extinguished the cigarette and threw it out, much to the amusement of Naruto and Sasuke.


	2. Chapter 2

Ch. 2

"Mmm, oh yea that's the stuff!" exclaimed Chōdai as he happily stuffed beef into his mouth.

Shikaji looked over to his friend and shook his head. They had known each other for most of their lives, and yet it still amazed the Nara boy just how much his bulky friend could eat.

"Chō-kun, I know you Akimichi need to eat a lot for your jutsu to work, but don't you think you should slow down a little bit?" implored Inomi. "Seriously, how can you even afford to eat that much? That had to have been, like, fifteen servings!"

Chōdai swallowed the food in his mouth and grinned. "Don't you know? Momoka-chan gives me a discount!"

"She does? That seems a bit irresponsible of her. I mean the daughter of the proprietor of this place probably shouldn't be giving out discounts."

"Please, Inomi," drawled Shikaji. "I think her dad would make an exception for his favorite customer. I mean, Chōdai comes here almost every day, and he _is_ courting Momoka after all."

"Hmph. Still, it's not like we get a discount when we pay for him," Inomi complained.

Chōdai stared at his friends aghast. "You don't? You mean all this time you've been paying full price? Why didn't you tell me? I wouldn't eat nearly as much if I knew I was bankrupting you two!"

"Don't worry about it, buddy," replied Shikaji, waving him off. "The two of us are more than happy to keep you at your best, even if it's a pain. That's what friends are for."

That seemed to mollify the Akimichi boy a bit, but the other two did notice that he started eating much slower.

"Why, is that a pineapple I spy? I wonder what it's doing at a barbecue restaurant. And it looks pretty brown too. That can't be healthy can it, Hide-kun?"

"You know, I believe you're right, Shi-chan. I think we need to investigate such an odd phenomenon."

Shikaji didn't even bother looking up at the sound of the two familiar voices until he felt a sudden weight drop next to him. His slightly annoyed stare was met by the lazy grin of the blonde woman who was now sitting next to him.

"Shisōka, why do you insist on saying that I look like a pineapple just because I put my hair up?" grumbled Shikaji.

"For a number of reasons," replied Shisōka, raising a hand to count them on her fingers. "One, I'm your older sister. It's my job to make fun of you. Two, because your hair is spiky and when you put it up in a ponytail, you in fact look like a pineapple from behind. Third, because I know you think it's _such a pain_."

"Wow, Shisōka, you ladled so much sarcasm into that I could _feel_ it," laughed a dark haired man who was now sitting next to Chōdai. A playful light could be seen dancing in his distinctive red eyes. "Don't you think he deserves a small break from your abuse? He did just get back from a mission."

"Of course not," replied Shisōka as she gave her brother a hug. "It's good for him. Mom always say that the abuse will put hair on his chest."

Shikaji was about to retort when he was drowned out by Inomi. "Oh my god, Shisōka, I'm so glad you could join us! I feel like it's been forever since we've talked!"

Shikaji sighed. He knew there was nothing he could do know that the two girls were talking. He shifted over to Inomi's right so that he wouldn't have to be in the middle of their incessant babbling. His resignation did not go unnoticed.

"Cheer up, Shikaji," said the older dark haired boy, grinning as took a piece of meat of the grill. "They'll calm down soon. Oh and by the way, when you guys are done here, you and Inomi have been called to the Hokage's office. New mission briefing."

"So it that why you two are here, Hideki?" asked Shikaji.

"In part. But we were headed this way anyways. Naruto-sama figured we could pass on the message when we saw you. Seems your sister and I will be coming with you."

"What about me?" asked Chōdai curiously. "I know we aren't required to stay together since we aren't genin, but it is a bit weird to be broken up."

"I'm sure. It took me a while to get used to going on mission without my team. Anyways, the Hokage said that you have a break for now. You three have been pretty busy recently, and he felt you deserve a break."

"Why do I deserve a break more than them?"

Hideki shrugged. "I doubt that they deserve a break any less than you, but the Hokage said that they were necessary for an infiltration mission that they met certain prerequisites for."

This caught Shikaji's attention. "Did Naruto-sama say what those prerequisites were exactly?"

The older ninja shook his head. "No, he just said he'd explain the details when we were all together."

At that time, the two girls turned back to the group, content that they had gossip enough for the moment. "By the way, where is Yokubō?" asked Inomi. "You two weren't on a date or anything were you?"

"No, nothing like that," replied Shisōka. Her brother smirked, noticing that she was at least a little better at hiding her blush than Hideki was. "Yokubō is off training with her dad. Naruto-sama told us he has another mission in mind for her."

"This mission we're being assigned must be a pretty important one if they're sending two jonin," mused Shikaji.

"Maybe," his sister replied as she helped herself to a few pieces of meat. It had become apparent that Chōdai was done eating, so the remaining food was fair game. "I'm also a bit curious as to the nature of the mission. If it were just a search and capture mission, we wouldn't really need Hideki. Hey, don't give you give me that look. Two Naras and a Yamanaka would be plenty for that type of mission."

"A diplomatic mission maybe?" asked Inomi. "Our clans are all hold quite a bit of power in the land of Fire."

"But why not send representatives from the noble clans?" countered Shikaji. "The Aburame, Akimichi, Hyūga, and Uchiha clans all hold more political clout than ours."

"There's not a whole of point to speculating," said Hideki. "We'll find out when we get there."

"Speaking of which," said Chōdai. "When are you guys supposed to meet with Naruto-sama?"

"He just said at our earliest convenience," replied Shisōka. "We figured we had plenty of time to eat and rest up a bit before heading back."

"So you're purposefully making the Hokage wait while you two go on your date?" asked Shikaji, raising an eyebrow. "Bit selfish there don't you think?"

Most of the satisfaction of seeing his sister blush at his remark died out when she reached over and smacked him hard upside the head. "Shut it, pineapple-head," she growled dangerously.

Much as he would enjoy poking fun at his older sister, Shikaji decided to keep his mouth shut. _'Din't deny they were dating this time though'_ he thought, smirking. "Well, we're all done eating. We should go know."

"See you later guys," said Chōdai as his friends got up. "I'm going to go see if Momoka is here today. Good luck on your mission!"

With that, they left for the Hokage's tower, leisurely hopping across rooftops to avoid any crowds. Within a few minutes the four shinobi were standing in the Hokage's office. Naruto was sitting at his large desk, a mission folder and a small box sitting in front of him. Next to him sat Shikamaru, staring lazily at his two kids, a lit cigarette between his lips.

"Ah you're finally here," said Naruto. "Sarutobi Hideki, Nara Shisōka, Nara Shikaji, and Yamaska Inomi, I'm sending you on a B-Rank mission to Tanzaku Quarters. It's a covert intel-gathering mission. But before we get into the details, I need the four of you to do something." With that, he opened the box and took out four identical rings. Each of them was a just a simple silver band with the only difference being subtle differences in size. Naruto handed a ring to each of the four young shinobi. "Now, these rings I gave you aren't yours," he told them, grinning mischievously. "You'll have to put them on your partner's finger. To keep it simple, Hideki is partners with Shisōka, and Shikaji is partners with Inomi"

Shikaji didn't like the blatant amusement in both Naruto and his dad's eyes. _'This is such a pain. Why not just give us the ring we're supposed to wear? What are they playing at?'_ Trying to ignore the feeling that they were the victims of some weird joke, he placed the ring on Inomi's finger before she did the same to him. He didn't seem to notice his partners deep blush as she looked at the ring.

"Congratulations!" exclaimed a grinning Naruto when he saw they were done. "By my right as Hokage, I pronounce you men and wives! Fellas, you may kiss your brides!"

"Wait, what?!" the four young ninja cried at once.

The grin fell of Naruto's face, although the amusement never left his eyes. "I'm serious. This is part of your mission. You don't want to fail before you've even started, do you?"

Shikaji looked like he wanted to argue, but he felt someone take his hand. He turned to face Inomi, who was blushing even harder now. He sighed before leaning in close to her. Their lips met in a soft kiss that sent a shock through the Nara boy's body. His senses suddenly went into overdrive. He could feel the smoothness of her lips against his, smell the subtle, yet enticing scent of her vanilla perfume, hear their hearts beating hard and fast in unison. As they broke away, Shikaji saw something in Inomi's eyes he had never seen before and couldn't quite place.

"They grow up so fast. If only your mother were here to see her two kids get married," Shikamaru's sarcastic voice cut through the post-kiss haze in Shikaji's mind, and he turned to glare at his dad who seemed to be enjoying this far too much.

"Ah, young love! It's so beautiful, isn't it?" chuckled Naruto. "Now, before you ask, yes that was necessary. We weren't just trying to make you feel uncomfortable. For this mission, the four of you will be attending a retreat for married couples held by Suzuki Koji, a minor lord in Fire country. Your objective is to gather any information you can on a hidden village called Yamigakure."

"What's so important about this village?" asked Hideki.

"The shinobi Shikaji's team captured earlier came from Yamigakure, and information we got from indicates that they may be a threat to Konoha."

"So what's the connection to the couple's retreat?"

"Tsunade-sama informed us that Suzuki holds this retreat every couple of years," said Shikamaru, handing them the mission folder. "He isn't the most powerful lord, but he is ridiculously wealthy, thoroughly enjoys throwing parties, and is incredibly well-connected. Tsunade-sama seemed to believe that he might have heard something about them. However, there's a reason this is to be a covert mission. First, we don't want the enemy to find out that we're looking for them. Secondly, Suzuki is well known for his distrust of all shinobi. You can't let him know you're from the Hidden Leaf. All the information you'll need is in that folder. You'll have to be disguised somehow."

"As soon as you feel you're ready, you may head out," said Naruto. "If you get any information, report back via encrypted letters. We expect the four of you will be gone for a few weeks at least. Oh, and one last thing: you are supposed to be married, so be sure to act like it. Just don't get _too_ carried away! You're dismissed."

 _'This is going to be such a pain,'_ thought Shikaji glumly. ' _I'm only fifteen. I'm way too young to be married.'_ He looked over to Inomi as they left the office. _'Could be worse, though. At least I'm with my best friend. I just hope things don't get too out of control_. _'_


	3. Chapter 3

**AN: Standard disclaimer of I don't own Naruto or it's characters.**

 **Please review if you like it. Really helps me out. Please enjoy.**

Ch. 3

"Wake up, girl. It's feeding time."

A young woman with distinctive red fang marks on her cheeks moaned groggily as she glared at the fat orange cat sitting on her stomach. "Saidai, what have I told you about waking me up just because you want food?" she growled.

The cat was very much unfazed by the girl's reaction. "You've told me that the next time I wake you up, you'll shave off all my fur with a dull, rusty spoon."

"And what part of that was unclear?"

"You're the only one here," Saidai replied nonchalantly. "and Tamaki-san gave me a similar threat if I snuck into the food cabinet again."

The woman frowned. "Tamaki and Kiba are both gone and they didn't tell me?"

"I believe the smelly dog-man said something along the line of 'too scared to wake the beast'. There may also be note. However, they left before feeding us, which is a problem. Please don't make me beg, girl."

Another growl. "I have a name you know."

Her retort was met with a blank stare. The woman sighed, knowing she was fighting a losing battle. "Fine, get off me fat-ass. I'll get you your damn food."

The cat gave a content purr as he followed the woman to the kitchen. Just as the cat had said, she noticed a hastily scribbled note on the counter.

 _"Ashi,_

 _Tam, Akamaru, and I are on a mission. Be back soon. Feed the gang._

 _-Kiba"_

Ashi grumbled as she moved about the kitchen getting food ready for the various cats and dogs in the house. "Alright everyone," she called out. "Foods ready, come and get it." As animals began making their way towards their breakfast, Ashi threw together a quick meal for herself.

 _'Uncle's lucky,"_ she thought to herself as she ate. _'Been way too long since I've been on a mission. I'm getting restless being cooped up in the house'_

So lost in thought was Ashi that she almost didn't hear the loud knocking coming from the front door. Wondering who could be here this early in the morning, she slowly made her way to the door.

"Who's there?" she asked as she opened the door. Her bad mood worsened when she saw the young, silver-haired man in front of her. "What the hell do you want?"

"Good morning, Ashi," replied the young man cheerfully, his voice slightly muffled by the mask covering the lower half of his face. "Nice to see you as always."

"Didn't you hear me? I asked what the hell do you want, Ogama?"

Ogama's eye's narrowed slightly. "We have a mission," he replied, keeping the light air in his voice. "We've been asked to report to the Hokage's office ASAP."

Ashi perked up. "A mission? Finally Let's go!"

Ogama's mask covered his smirk quite nicely. "Glad to see that cheered you up, but you don't seem quite ready to go." He answered her questioning stare by looking down. Her eyes followed his and she blushed. She had forgotten that she was still wearing her less than modest sleepwear. Her embarrassment quickly turned to anger.

"Quit checking me out, you perv!" she yelled as she slammed the door in his face. Ogama's quiet chuckles echoed in her head as she rushed to her room to change. In no time, she and Ogama were on their way to the Hokage's office.

"Ah you guys are here," Naruto said as the pair entered his office. The two newcomers fell in line with two others already there: a young, raven-haired woman with the Uchiha fan sigil on the back of her flak jacket, and a young, auburn-haired man with white eyes and the Uzumaki swirl on the sleeve of his simple, white kimono. The young man smiled briefly at the two as they came in before returning his attention to Naruto. "Good. We can begin the briefing. Recently, Team 10 brought in a group of potentially enemy ninja. Who they are and what there is purpose is pretty unclear to us still, even after interrogation. As Shikamaru likes to remind me, knowledge is key in any encounter with an enemy, which puts us at a bit of a disadvantage."

"What was Fath-… I mean Captain Uchiha able to find out?" inquired the raven-haired woman.

"Well," replied Naruto somewhat bashfully, ignoring the woman's slip-up. "That's the problem, Youkubō. Sasuke's interrogation really only got us one bit of information. The ninja come from a village called Yamigakure."

Ashi frowned at the mention of that name. _I know I've heard that name before_ , she thought, racking her brain for any memory, but none came to mind.

"Now I know looking for a trail with no leads is incredibly hard," Naruto was saying. "We only have one idea on where to start looking for intel on this threat, and it's not exactly a reasonable one. Which leads me to your mission. Uchiha Yokubō, Hatake Ogama, Inuzuka Ashi, and Uzumaki Neji, I'm sending you on an intel gathering mission. This mission is very risky and requires a high degree of stealth and skill. You will be infiltrating a number of hideouts and archives that were once used by Orochimaru in order to find out any information he may have had on Yamigakure."

The four ninja stared at Naruto dumbfounded. "Forgive me if I speak out of turn, Hokage-sama," spoke up Neji. "But is Orochimaru not one of the most dangerous shinobi alive and an S-rank missing-nin? This seems like more of a job for ANBU than for two jonin and two chunin. Don't you think we are a little under qualified?"

Naruto seemed to age before their eyes, looking every bit the weary, time beaten, thirty seven year old man he was able to hide so well. "Normally, yes. In fact I would rather send ANBU than you four. However, Orochimaru didn't have bases in only Fire country and tensions are strained amongst the Five Great Nations. If I were to send ANBU outside of the country and they were caught, it could start a war, and I want to avoid that if at all possible. However, you four would likely go largely unnoticed by the other nations, as long as you don't do anything too stupid. Besides, I have faith you. Be smart and be safe and everything should work out fine."

"What happens if we run into Orochimaru or any Yami shinobi?" asked Ogama, his typical bored expression falling back into place.

"If you are able to safely capture any Yami shinobi, then great," replied Naruto. "But that's not your mission, so don't take any stupid risks. Treat them like the enemy. As for Orochimaru, you are not to fight him. If he engages you, then just run. He may be an old man, but he is still dangerous. This is not supposed to be some suicide mission. Get intel, get out. If you can avoid fighting at all, that would be ideal. Now if there are no more questions, your mission starts now. Yokubō is the leader. Good luck."

* * *

"Just like old times," said Neji as they left the Hokage's office, a small smile on his face. "The old team is back together."

"Plus one," said Yokubō quietly. "I don't think I've been on a mission with any of you three. I'll need to know what you are all capable of."

"As squad leader, shouldn't you have files on us from Naruto-sama?" asked Ogama.

"I do. However, I'd rather find out firsthand what each of you can do."

"Firsthand?" questioned Ashi. "You mean you want us to fight? We have a mission! We don't have time for this."

"Actually, we do," countered the Uchiha woman. "This mission does not have a deadline. We have all the time in the world to complete it. Now, I understand that finishing the mission as soon as possible is best, so we can be as prepared as possible for an attack. However, I do believe this is necessary. How can I properly lead if I don't what my team is capable of?"

"Simple," answered Ogama. "I was appointed as a jonin at the same time you were, so clearly my combat skills should speak for themselves. Neji fights like a Hyūga, which again, should speak for itself. As for Ashi, she is one of the fastest and bravest, albeit reckless, ninja in the village and her Inuzuka blood is said to be one of the strongest in her clan. All three of us are prodigies in our respective clans. We are good trackers, hence our assignment to this mission is particular. Also, all three of us are adept in medical ninjutsu. Good enough?"

There was a short silence as Yokubō mulled over this information. Ashi looked over to her teammate, hiding her surprise. _'That wasn't very like him,'_ she thought. _'He's usually much more respectful than that. And he complimented me? Feels like ages since he's done that.'_

"Well, that was quite an assessment, Hatake," said Yokubō after a time. "And you are correct in many ways. Between your files and my own knowledge of your clans, much of what you said speaks for itself. However, while I've seen Hyūgas and Inuzukas fight, there are only two living Hatakes: You and Hatake Kakashi, your father. However, he had the Sharingan, which I see you lack, therefore his fighting style and yours would likely be different. So, I want to see you fight. You can spar with Ashi. I've never seen an Inuzuka without a ninken, so I would like to see how it affects her."

Although his scowl was mostly covered by the mask, Ogama's annoyance was still rather obvious. "Fine," he sighed. "You are squad captain after all. Let's find an empty training ground then."

After a quick search, the four of them stood in a large open field. Ashi stood across from Ogama, with Yokubō and Neji standing a ways away. The two fighters dropped into their stances.

 **"Ninja Art of Beast Mimicry: All-Fours Jutsu!"** cried Ashi, falling forward as her nails turned to claws and canine teeth grew. Her normally rather wild appearance took on a even more animalistic quality. **"Tunneling Fang!"** With that, Ashi charged at her opponent, spinning at incredible speeds. Before Ogama had a chance to react, she rammed into him, knocking him into the air before following him and pummeling him back into the ground.

"Well, that was over unexpectedly quickly," commented Yokubō.

"You think so? Perhaps you should watch are carefully," replied Neji amusedly. "I know my teammates. This fight isn't over just yet."

Frowning, the Uchiha girl activated her Sharingan and searched the field. Sure enough, there was no chakra signature in the crater Ashi had made besides her own. Moving at a speed that someone without the visual prowess the two observes had would be hard pressed to follow, Ashi charged towards the trees to her left. Her charge was met by a huge jet of water in the shape of a dragon which hit her dead on.

"I see. He dodged the first attack, then used a substitution to evade the follow up. Then he had enough time to use high level water-style jutsu even without a water source nearby. Very impressive," commented Yokubō.

"I'm not done yet!" yelled Ashi as she went through a number of hand seals. **"Lightning Style: Thunderous Fang!"** Suddenly, Ashi's body was cloaked in lighting chakra. Once more, she sent her self spinning at Ogama, but much faster now. Even from a distance, the two observers could see the shock in the white haired ninja's eyes as he moved to dodge the incoming attack, knowing, however, that he would be too slow. However, before the attack could land, Neji appeared between them and held out his hands. A strong gust of wind pushed the combatants away from each other. The wind jutsu was strong enough to stop Ashi in her tracks and even wipe away her lighting cloak.

"Enough," ordered Neji calmly, yet firmly. He turned to Yokubō. "I take it you have seen enough?"

The woman nodded. "I have. I must say I am impressed by all three of you. I apologize if it appeared I doubted your abilities. I am satisfied. We can rest a bit before heading out, if you would like."

Ashi shook her head, releasing her clan's jutsu and returning to her normal self. "I'm fine to go. I won't be slowing us down."

"I'm fine as well," said Ogama lazily, as if he hadn't just been fighting. "Let's go."


End file.
